The anchoring technique

The anchoring technique is one of the NLP techniques that help you get into a specific emotional state. Unconsciously, we are often exposed to anchors. For example, we can listen to a song and experience a certain emotional state because that music reminds us of someone or a situation. When we hear those notes, our emotions return to the state they were in when we heard that song.

Also By smelling a perfume or aroma we can remember something from the past and enter the same emotional state we had. If, for example, a negative situation had a specific smell, if we later smell the same aroma again in another pleasant place, we will feel discomfort because we would already have the previous anchor and that smell will be linked to negativity.

The origin of the study and importance of anchors dates back to Ivan P. Pavlov, Russian psychologist and physiologist who won the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1904. Anchors for Pavlov were the association of a stimulus (a bell) to a physiological response ( salivation). This was produced by the behavioral association called conditioned reflex.

We can create anchors to have good emotional states. To do this, let’s follow the following two points:

1. What emotional state should we have?

The first step would be to identify the emotional state in which we want to be. when the anchoring technique is carried out. The most demanded thing is to return to a state of tranquility, well-being and peace, or to obtain a state of joy and euphoria. We usually want to go from a negative state to a positive one.

It is important that we focus on what we really want to obtain, and not on what we do not want.

If we start thinking “I don’t want to see a yellow cat”, surely the mind will create that yellow cat in our imagination. Thus, Let’s leave the denials aside and focus on what we do want.. Change the denial “I don’t want to be nervous” to the affirmation “I want to be calm.”

Our brain has a lot of difficulty creating a negative image. It is easier for us to create the image of “calm” than an image of “not being nervous.” Take the test.

Therefore, the first thing is to create an affirmative image of what we want, in the clearest way and with the greatest amount of detail possible. This will help us visualize it better. Maybe the image will take on a life of its own… better!

For example, We are going to create an anchorage to relax and sleep well at night.. Once we are clear that we want to create a state of relaxation, we move on to the next point.

2. Identify when you had that state you want

The next step would be to think about a situation in our lives where we have had that emotional state that we want to obtain.. For example, we want to relax to sleep at night. We must detect a day in the past where we have been very relaxed and imagine that situation in as much detail as possible.

While we imagine that relaxing day, you have to put your hand on your chest, so the mind associates that movement of putting your hand on your chest with the situation you are going to imagine. The more details you put into your imagination and the more times you repeat the exercise, the better it will work.

An example of anchoring

While I put my hand on my chest, close my eyes and imagine a Sunday morning when I got up to go to the beach., the day before I had gone to bed late. I arrived at the beach and as soon as I lay down on the towel with the bikini and a beige cap on I felt very relaxed, very sleepy, I heard the sound of the ocean waves, I felt the sun on my skin.

The gesture does not have to be putting your hand on your chest, you can choose the one you like the most, such as squeezing a finger, holding your wrist, linking your fingers, squeezing your ear, etc… The more details you remember about that day, the better it will work.. If possible, you even have to imagine the colors of the sky, clothes, accessories, sensations, smells, etc.

Once that day has been imagined in all kinds of details, with your eyes closed and your hand on your chest, The mind already has associated that movement of the hand on the chest with that relaxing day at the beach.

So, One night when we were nervous and couldn’t sleep, when we put our hand on our chest, we will automatically relive that relaxing day at the beach and the state of relaxation will return to our body.

Anchoring Technique Needs Practice

You have to practice a lot with your imagination and repeat the anchoring often. The more you repeat it, the more automatic it will become to place your hand on your chest and feel relaxation. The power of the mind is immense and with practice we can master our emotions.

Actors are very used to changing from one emotional state to another in a matter of minutes. They control their emotions very well, many carry out the anchoring technique without realizing itFor example, they change their clothes to do a performance and those clothes already change their emotions because they associate those clothes with the rehearsal they had, the mind remembers that with those clothes they had a certain way of being.

If you’ve ever had a great experience wearing a certain piece of clothing, the next time you have to face something that scares you, putting on those same clothes will give you a dose of security. Whether it works to a greater or lesser extent will depend on the practice and situation.

The anchoring technique does not work miracles, but it does contribute to a high degree of well-being, since The mind is the engine that dominates the body.

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